Month: June 2023
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Mental health issues in medical students: The prejudice and the injury
Amairani Gómez RodríguezPuebla, Mexico I had my first panic attack at seventeen. Biochemistry was a total headache; no matter how hard I studied, it was never enough to pass. As a school overachiever, I had never experienced failure. I felt an existential pressure. My supportive family never demanded high marks or my being the top…
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The ordeal of Mary Ann Bevan
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “May you be the proof that man can endure anything.” – Yiddish curse“Beauty vanishes; virtue is lasting.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe From the 1840s through the 1940s, “freak shows” were very popular in the western world, “a normal staple of American culture.”1 People were exhibited because of their appearances: “giants,” “dwarves,”…
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John Haygarth, pioneer epidemiologist
John Haygarth. 1827. US National Library of Medicine. In one of his Table Talk essays, William Hazlitt wrote that “posterity is by no means as disinterested as they might be supposed to be, and that they give the gratitude and admiration in return for benefits received.” In this spirit we remember both the physician John…
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Englishes
Peter ArnoldSydney, Australia According to Google,1 the language spoken by most people is English (1.5 billion), followed by Mandarin (1.1 billion) and Hindi (0.6 billion). However, of our approaching 8 billion, many more speak another language besides those 1.5 million in the top bracket. This other language has hundreds of “dialects,” which might obscure appreciation…
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The death of King Mongkut
Parnreutai ChaiyasatBangkok, Thailand King Mongkut,1 the second son of King Rama II of Siam (now known as Thailand),2 spent most of his life in scholarship as a Buddhist monk before ascending to the throne. He studied traditional Siamese astrology, scientific astronomy, and mathematics. In August 1868, he predicted the time of a solar eclipse more…
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Howard A. Knox and intelligence testing on Ellis Island
Carine TabakKansas City, Kansas, United States Between 1892 to 1924, twelve million men, women, and children entered the United States through the Ellis Island Immigration Center, making it the largest health screening facility in the US at the time.1,2 At first, immigrants were inspected to identify medical conditions, but changing economic and political forces shifted…
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Al-Biruni (973–1048)
Asad BakirGeorge DuneaChicago, Illinois, United States In the year 973 during the Islamic Golden Age, there was born in the city of Kath in Khwarezm (modern Uzbekistan) one of the greatest polymaths of all time. His complete name was Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni; the last name is derived from the Persian word birun…
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The tapeworm diet: Myth, mostly
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use…‘we.’”—Attributed to Mark Twain The tapeworm is a flatworm that can live in the human intestine. Humans acquire tapeworms by eating raw or uncooked flesh that contains tapeworm larvae or “cysts.” Raw or uncooked beef—in the form of “steak tartare,”…
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The ships’ surgeons’ toxic toolkit
Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia During the “Age of Sail,” months-long voyages gave rise to unique health concerns.1,2 Moreover, ships’ surgeons frequently encountered diseases brought upon uninhibited sailors through their own “adventurous” behavior. Following their arrival at far-flung ports, sailors often returned from shore visits with more than they bargained for, including sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis.…